you know… sometimes the point isn’t about how many people see your ad, it’s about actually changing people’s behavior.

if it’s a matter of getting them to drink diet pepsi vs. diet coke, or getting them to shop at target vs. walmart… no one’s gonna die.

it’s not really a matter of life or death.

however, when the ad is for an hiv-awareness campaign…. it actually IS.

i have no idea if this was just a spec or if the spot actually ran, but if it did, i think it’s pretty fucking tragic:

“you have no idea what a difference that makes” …. they may as well have added “and hey, ignorance is bliss, right?” at the end, cuz it’s not like that ad conveys ANYTHING about the difference that DOES make.

so…. just keep having no idea.

don’t get me wrong, it’s hot, and you want to watch it…but is it really something that’s going to change people’s behavior?

since i’m not actually the target audience for this, a couple of gay friends later the consensus to that question is:

“not so sure.”

exactly what good does a sensational and even popular ad do, if the message isn’t effective? priority #1 should be to make an message that works, not a video that gets passed around.

the idea that some ad agency is actually thinking that it’s more important that a lot of people see their ad than that anyone is actually motivated to use a condom…. is kind of sick.

the point isn’t about making an ad viral… it’s about making a message that might actually help STOP the virus.